Supermen: Building Maximum Muscle for a Lifetime

By Craig Cecil
Pages: 276
Price: $7.99 (Kindle edition), $24.95 (paperback)








Description

This book presents a weightlifting system for intermediate to advanced weight trainers that maximizes the muscular development of an individual, while creating a complete, balanced and symmetrical physique. This book will save you years of trial-and-error in the gym and provide you with decades of weight training insights. It's a book for the rest of us-those with average genetics, strong minds and stronger hearts. More significantly, it represents a long-term plan for lifting weights wisely throughout your life while building and maintaining significant muscle mass.

In this book, you will learn:

Book Details

Kindle and paperback formats, 276 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9847414-0-3

Table of Contents

Sample Workouts

The book contains hundreds of plateau-busting, battle-tested workouts— each with a name and description. Here are some examples:

Viking Ship

Viking ships were heavy, massive structures of wood. The men that rowed these ships forged themselves in the bowels of the rowmen’s seats. Here, you get to row one for the last half of the workout.

Exercise

Sets (13)

Reps

Chins (to front)

4

To failure

Reverse-Grip Pulldown

3

15, 12, 10

Seated Cable Row

6

6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

Hold the Presses

This time we’re going to pre-exhaust the front delts with front raises, then have you perform some very heavy Military presses standing. That will take everything you’ve got. The rear delts will get hit with an unusual exercise, standing Pulldown to the face—just concentrate on form and stability here and really squeeze those rear delts in the fully contracted position. You should feel an intense burn in the rear delts and see them pop out. Finally, a devilish ending to cap off the workout.

Exercise

Sets (13)

Reps

Barbell Front Raise

3

12, 12, 12

Standing BB Military Press

2

Warm ups

Standing BB Military Press

3

4, 4, 4

Standing Pulldown (to face)

3

15, 15, 15

Standing DB Side Lateral

2

6>6>6,  6>6>6

Zottman Lives!

The Zottman curl is an oft-neglected tool in the arsenal of bicep development. You get supination and a reverse curl in one movement—quite the bargain, especially if you’re short on time. Oh, and if you haven’t noticed, you’ve got a 20-rep set to finish out the preacher curls. That will definitely keep your biceps guessing.

Exercise

Sets (12)

Reps

Dumbbell Curl

5

12, 10, 6, 6, 8

Barbell Preacher Curl

3

5, 5, 20

DB Concentration Curl

2

6, 6

Zottman Curl

2

8, 8

Back to the Future

Before fancy equipment, like cable machines and E-Z bars appeared, muscular men of yore built massive triceps with the pullover and press, for good reason. It’s a demanding exercise, which works the long head through an unusual angle, topped off with a close-grip pressing finish. I’ll also throw in some high intensity drop-sets on the pushdowns and end with a futuristic cable extension. Bring back the memories and feel the hurt.

Exercise

Sets (12)

Reps

Barbell Pullover & Press

4

5, 5, 5, 5

Pushdowns

4 drop sets

[6 > 6] x 4 (one drop in weight per set)

Overhead Cable Extension

4

10, 8, 4, 4

Fear Factor

Often, what holds back your progress is your mind. This workout will test the strength of both your head and your heart. First, you have to set in your mind that you can do this—then, when your mind starts to doubt, let your heart take over. For the leg extensions you need to increase the weight each set AND increase the reps. For the squats, perform decreasing reps and increasing weight until you get to the first set of 12 reps. Pick a weight you think you can do for 10 reps and use that. Then, keep using that weight for the final two sets, including the 20-rep set. Confront your fears and grow.

Exercise

Sets (13)

Reps

Leg Extension

4

10, 12, 14, 16

Squat

9

15, 12, 4, 4, 4, 4, 12, 12, 20

About the Author

Craig Cecil has been involved in sports and the science of exercise since his days of high school athletics in baseball, through his collegiate career in NCAA Track & Field, to his devotion to weightlifting and bodybuilding pursuits over the past 20 years. During that time, Craig has trained with professional athletes, as well as multitudes of dedicated, ordinary individuals just wanting to build lean, muscular body weight. Craig is a member of the National Strength & Conditioning Association and holds an MBA from Loyola University of Maryland.

Customer Reviews

Doctor Approved

"As an avid weightlifter and a physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, I found this book to be a well-written, die-hard approach to muscle and fitness. Craig has the uncanny ability to combine the key ingredients of basic muscle physiology, proper techniques, and hard core lifts into a practical, organized and entertaining guide to building muscle. This book is a must read for anyone who is serious about building maximum muscle for a lifetime."

— Dr. Mark Gloth

Incredible!

"I have read countless fitness and motivational books. 'Supermen' is truly as real as it gets. The principals in this book can be applied to not only fitness, but all facets of one's life. It is not unlike 'Think And Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill, in that 'Supermen' spells out the guidelines to laying the foundation for excellence in ANY endeavor - fitness or otherwise. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in both physical and intellectual fitness, and overall well-being!"

— J. Wasserman

Holy Muscles Batman!

"This book may be entitled Supermen however as the author also states it is definitely applicable to women who weightlift as well and I wholeheartedly agree! The book is very engaging, easy to read, and highly humorous at times. More importantly, Supermen is motivational in that the author shares real life stories and experiences he doesn't just preach. One of the best features is the list of workouts at the end of the book and their very witty monikers. Having done several of these workouts I can say that I have definitely felt them the next day but in a good way and if you don't feel them then you must be inhuman! The descriptions and photos explaining the exercises are very good at laying out proper form and educating both the novice and experienced weightlifter alike. There are great tips for modifying workouts for injuries, avoiding over-training, and the sad but true diet/nutrition section. The actual supermen in the book are motivation enough to get moving!!!"

— Amazon Reviewer

Excellent writing, easy to understand, appeals to the intellect

"This book is the best! Craig Cecil explains exactly why working out this way produces better results. And it's not just for men. Women, particularly those in my aging group need this information to understand why they need to stay active even after injury, and how to get back to being in good shape following down-time, how not to reinjure yourself. I plan to buy a few copies next Christmas, my father, son, and sister can use this information."

— Amazon Reviewer

Entertainingly informative

"The information in this book is like having a personal trainer, nutritionist, and exercise consultant at your fingertips. The information is easy to read due to its down-to-earth narration and (funny) sidebar overviews and comments. These "nuts and bolts" exercise routines are not only practical and effective; but they will help the novice, intermediate and seasoned workout enthusiast achieve a more defined and improved physique! The routines can be customized...if you're not ready for the challenge,yet do-able for both men and women."

— M. Alexander

Workout Enthusiast

"A very user friendly, step by step manual for anyone goal oriented about their workout results. The book includes, workout schedules, cardio workout recommendation, and diet. Craig lightens the read with many witty comments that are amusing as well as educational. I especially find the weight lifting techniques, with photos, very helpful in obtaining a proper technique."

— Amazon Reviewer

Very well organized

"This book is very well organized and contains lots of tips you can't find anywhere else. It's really helped me add some muscle in a short amount of time."

— Adam Gertz

Top of Class in Basic Training

"I was able to go from 159lbs to 219lbs of lean muscle in three years using the techniques described in this book. It helped me go to the top of my class in Basic Training when I joined the Army."

— Rob Aquino

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Print Version

The paperback version of this book is available from Amazon.

Kindle Version

The Kindle version of this book is available from Amazon.

Companion Software

MuscleCALC is the workout tracking and planning software described in the Supermen e-book.

Get it and accelerate your progress.